If I Should Die_ A Novel of Suspense - Allison Brennan [116]
Carl glanced at Sean. “Should we kill Rogan now? I don’t see any advantages to keeping him alive.”
Bobbie glared at Sean, as though debating the value of his life.
Sean tried to avoid showing any reaction. A raw anger had him wanting to lunge for her throat. “He’s probably still worked up about what happened to his girlfriend,” Bobbie said. “But right now, he’s the only hostage we have. With that explosion, the fucking cops will be all over the place, we may need a shield.” She sneered at Sean. “And if you make this difficult, I’ll spend my entire life hunting down every person you’ve ever cared about.”
Carl’s voice was calm. “Let’s go to the mine and collect what’s ours, then leave. The Feds will have enough to sort through. By the time they realize we’re not here, we’ll be far away.” He glanced at Sean. “I’m still not sure what we do with him after we get out of the mine.”
Bobbie stared at Sean for a long minute.
Then she smiled, and a shiver of fear ran up Sean’s spine.
Adam carried the frail Emily Callahan from his truck into the lodge, followed by Henry.
“How is she?” Tim asked, leaning forward on the chair.
“She’s scared and disoriented,” Adam said. He carried her into the downstairs guest room. He told Henry to help himself to anything he needed, then he left Henry at her side, talking to her in soothing tones.
Adam returned to the living room and sat across from where Tim lay on the couch, his bandaged leg stretched out in front of him. He kept his voice down when he told Tim what had happened. “Bobbie Swain had them tied with duct tape. I cut them out, but Emily’s wrists are raw and bleeding. You saw Henry—he looks like a ghost. How could anyone treat them like that?”
Tim said, “I called Agent Armstrong and told him about Jon Callahan and the explosives—then not fifteen minutes later, there was a huge explosion. You heard it. I think it was on the northeast side of town, up near the valley.”
Henry stepped into the living room and shuffled over to a chair, where he sat heavily. “I gave Emily some cough syrup to help her sleep.” He rubbed his eyes. “I need to get her to a doctor, but for tonight she’s safest here.”
“You both can stay as long as you want.”
“I’m so sorry for everything. I should have told you at the beginning. I didn’t know everything, just bits and pieces. Right now I have to stop Jon. It’s my fault—I didn’t realize that he was waiting for my call to start blowing things up. But right after I called and told him Emily and I had gotten away, I heard the first explosion.”
“It’s not your fault, Henry,” Adam said. “I think Jon would have blown up the warehouses either way. You didn’t do any of this.”
“But I remained silent. For far too long. Jon’s going to die. I’m the only one who can talk him out of this madness.”
Tim rubbed his face. “I would go, but with my leg—and someone needs to stay with Emily. I’ll make sure she’s cared for.”
“Thank you, Tim. You’re a good man.” Henry looked from Tim to Adam. “Your father would be proud of both of you.”
Adam nodded. “For him, we need to end this peacefully. No one else has to die. Do you know where Jon is?”
“I don’t know for certain. But I overheard Carl Browne talking to one of his people that the meeting was still on at dawn in the church. If Jon knows about that, and he has more explosives, then I think he’ll go there.”
Adam caught Tim’s eye. Jon definitely had plenty of explosives to blow up anything he wanted.
Noah and Omar were hidden by bushes on the edge of the Callahan property, their breath visible. There was just one vehicle in sight, identified by Omar as the rental that Ian Galbraith, Bobbie Swain’s right-hand man, had been driving. There was no sign of movement in the house, and the only noise was from emergency vehicles headed to the fire on the far northeast side of Spruce Lake.
Noah assessed the house. The brush and grass had been cleared for a hundred feet surrounding the house, but they had the advantage of darkness.
“You’re sure the alarm is only on the house?” Noah